Most people might not know this, but The Pixies got their hometown start at UMass Amherst back in 1986, when two of the founding members were neighbors. Over 30 years later, they still play like the 90’s never ended. On September 20, their alt-punk-rock filled the John M. Greene Hall in Northampton, MA. With no set list, the band came out to a packed crowd and played hit after hit. After each song, the lights would dim while Black Francis would choose where the band would go next, feeding off the energy of the crowd. They have a few more shows in the northeast and Canada before moving westward. Do not miss these guys. Check out photos below from Zatchmo Lives Media.
Category: Features
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Exclusive: Shouthouse Debuts Video for “ANTS”
New York City ensemble Shouthouse debuted their single “ANTS” last week on NYS Music, and today, they debut an elaborately choreographed music video for the tune. Watch below.
Composed by pianist Will Healy, shot and edited by Jack Frerer and colorized by Bobby Wagnerman at Haym Pictures, the music video traverses the city and combines various elements of New York City with “ANTS,” bringing two complex components together for one multi-dimensional video. Healy spoke with NYS Music about the video:
“Living in New York can become oddly isolating, even though there are so many people living there together. As you move through the streets and subways, it’s easy to feel alone in a crowd. There is an impersonal atmosphere in New York, and any amount of self expression can be seen as bizarre, shocking, or dangerous.
“For this video, I wanted each rapper and dancer to slowly transform from a normal face into the crowd into artists. As the music plays, they are shown walking or standing, and over time they separate from those around them, transitioning into movements and verses that express their inner dialogue.“I wanted the viewer to get a sense of the different sides and heights of urban living, progressing from underground in the subways to ground level in Times Square, and finally on a roof overlooking East Harlem.
“We had a blast shooting this video. Any excuse to interrupt the routine among commuters gets great reactions (especially the shots on the escalator!). There are also so many interesting spots to shoot, the city was our playground for the day. There are three dancers in the video–Taylor LaBruzzo and Zach Gonder from Juilliard, and Quilan Arnold, who is a Brooklyn-based hip hop dancer. It was great to see their different styles interact, and they did a great job visually representing our unique style of music-making through their different genres of dance.”
Shouthouse performs next at Shapeshifter Lab in Gowanus, Brooklyn, on October 6. More info can be found here.
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The Local Limelight: Rob The Guitar Guy
Patchogue Village, The setting of incredible nightlife teeming with live entertainment! Walk down Mainstreet Friday and Saturday nights and you’ll find yourself immersed by one of Long Island‘s greatest music scenes.
Surrounded by avid clubs and music venues dawning bright lights, all host such enthusiastic musicians and performers. One in particular performs to achieve one simple objective: Give em’ what they want! This is the essence of the solo act that is Rob (the guitar guy) Baione.Step into Patchogue’s neighborhood restaurant and bar The Tap Room located at 114 W Mains St, and you’ll immediately feel a warm environment and feel-good vibes creating the mood for the place where Rob entertains his local audience.When becoming a solo act, songs began to take on a new life when stripped down to an acoustic guitar and a vocal. Selections range from classical to country, rock to rap, folk to metal, etc. There’s a song for everybody. Audiences are always entertained by his charisma and ability to include them in the show!One way Rob the Guitar Guy does this, is by allowing the audience to choose the songs. “It’s like having your own personal jukebox. No one wants to leave when they hear ‘their song’ played.”Each show is unique and you never know what to expect! But one thing is for sure, you’ll always leave feeling good, and that was definitely the case last week at The Tap Room.You can find Rob performing there the 3rd Friday of every month, with a musical repertoire growing larger and larger each return! -
Interview: One For The Braves
One For The Braves just debuted their first music video, for the song “Dirt Nap” off their latest release Does Anybody Honestly Care.
The EP’s a mile-a-minute pop punk revelry, with pop culture references bringing levity to heart-on-sleeve lyrics. The quintet from Poughkeepsie features Adam “Radam” Rebillard on vocals, Avery Avello and Brian Morgan on guitars, Nick Ferraioli on bass, and Sean Mercado on drums. NYS Music spoke with Rebillard about the band, their latest release, and their first music video.
Photo: Sabrina Leviton Paula Cummings: When and why did you start writing songs?
Adam Rebillard: I started writing lyrics when I was really young, mostly just to kill time. When I got older, I got bored of doing it. Then I discovered punk and pop punk and all those wonderful styles of genres. It sounded fun to me, so I started singing and putting melodies to some of the lyrics. Then my freshman year in college I met our guitar player Avery, and the two of us started jamming together and it kept going from there. We got a few new members over the years.
PC: How would you describe your band?
AR: We take the nostalgic pop punk style, which would be bands like New Found Glory, and mix it with a newer style like The Wonder Years and Story So Far. We find ways to make it our own, so we’re not a clone of another band. That’s not what we want.
PC: What was your most memorable show so far?
AR: We did a show back in January. It was our first headline show at our local venue, The Loft. It was fun to finally be the main event of a local venue that we all grew up going to. We had a good turnout. We were on with some of our best friends’ bands. It was laid-back. Everyone was happy, having a good time. We do everything we can to grab an audience and keep their attention. I personally move around a lot. We incorporate solos in our songs. We do our best to get the audience interactive, talking between songs.
PC: You recently released your sophomore EP. Tell me about the team you recorded this one with.
AR: The first EP we did over at New Paltz. But the sophomore EP, Does Anybody Honestly Care, we did at Nada Studios in Montgomery. It was awesome. We recorded these songs with another studio, and got it back, but it wasn’t what we were looking for. We emailed Eric and Nada, told him what we were looking for, and that we wanted to record again from the ground up. We went in and he had ideas to bring to the songs. We made this amazing EP that we’re all so proud of.
PC: What was it like to film your first music video?
AR: It was weird, but it was fun. Like I said, I like to move around a lot – jumping, spinning. I’m doing my usual stuff. We’re filming and the guy’s like “Hey, man, that’s really cool but you need to stay in one spot so I can keep up with you.” We did it at a high school track. The song we did it for is called “Dirt Nap.” The idea behind the song is regardless of what people think you keep moving forward in life. People are going to like you, people are going to not like you. You can’t let that get to you. So when I feel anxious or whatever, I go run on a track, so one day I got the idea. So we drew up some signs and had people stand around holding these signs. The idea was to keep going regardless of the signs and what people think, and keep moving on and pushing forward.
Does Anybody Honestly Care is available on Bandcamp. Follow One For The Braves on Facebook or Twitter for updates and show announcements.
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Lettuce Brings the Funk to Buffalo
People from all walks of life gathered together in Buffalo at the intimate Tralf Music Hall Sunday, September 17 to experience the long-awaited return of the Boston-based funk machine that is Lettuce. While it was a typical, dreary September Buffalo night outside, the crowd and aura of the dancefloor gave the feeling that you were at a late Saturday night festival show.
The show began with a high energy DJ set by the up and coming electronic artist Maddy O’Neal. The 45-minute set showcased a great combination of bone shaking bass drops, obscure drum beats, and well-placed sound effects as she sampled songs that were both familiar and unfamiliar to the crowd. O’Neal’s energetic movements blurred the lines between the crowd and the performer as red, blue and yellow lights swirled around the stage and inspired the mostly timid crowd to get up and dance. By the end of her set nearly the entire dancefloor was filled and grooving, and the crowd was warmed up and ready for the meat- or vegetable- of the show.The audience was ecstatic when Lettuce took the stage, with a few extra cheers and whistles directed towards keyboard player Nigel Hall who emerged from behind the curtain in a Bill’s hat and old-school O.J. Simpson jersey. The band took no time getting going as they opened with an electrifying “Requiem,” a song that wove jazz and funk influences as drummer Adam Deitch and bass player Erick “Jesus” Coomes held down a steady funk groove while trumpet player Eric Bloom and saxophonist Ryan Zoidis skillfully whirled through a Middle-Eastern melody.
The tight stage and small venue created a college-basement feeling as the crowd was now shoulder to shoulder, bobbing and spinning just feet from the almost comically over-packed, tiny stage of musicians. The next two songs kept the energy high as they blasted through “Get Greasy” and “Chief,” two fat funk instrumentals which gave the band multiple opportunities to showcase their ability to control the energy in the room and build to a peak out of almost thin air. The crowd clearly appreciated the heavy funk to start the show because by the end of the third song multiple heads of lettuce could be seen flying around the audience.
The band slowed things down a bit with “Dump,” the first song featuring vocals, which sounded like a cross between James Brown and Stevie Wonder. Hall did a magnificent job handling the vocals with his delicate yet dominating voice, as the band played softly around him.
The next few numbers highlighted the band’s ability to create ambience while at the same time holding on tight to their funk roots. The intro to “Ready to Live” gave the feeling that you were being ominously watched as you went scuba-diving through an abandoned shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean, eventually being pulled up to the surface by the funky breakdown.
High energy jazz solos by guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff was a clear highlight to the diverse crowd before the band took a quick break leaving Deitch alone on stage to hammer out an intense, Bonham-like drum solo. When the band returned to the stage, they might as well have come back with George Clinton with them because they brought the funk. The crowd exploded with the band, and there was not a single person whose neck wouldn’t be sore in the morning from the trance-like grooving.
The band ended their set with two songs containing more vocals than they had utilized the entire night. During “Shmink Dabby” Hall taunted the audience in a James Brown-like fashion yelling “Buffalo, Hit Me!” while Zoidis let out a powerful saxophone solo. They ended their set with “Sounds Like a Party,” a fun song that does in fact sound like a party. During the breakdown, each band member took a small solo before coming together as one entity to leave the crowd on a high note.
The band did not leave the stage for long before the crowd began a “One More Song!” chant, forcing the musicians back out almost immediately. The band thanked the audience and gave them a little more of what they wanted with a bustling rendition of “The Flu.” Hugs, high fives, and smiles were exchanged as the crowd left the venue, with every soul feeling just a bit richer thanks to the night of funk they had just experienced together.
Setlist: Requiem > Get Greasy > Chief > Dump > Ready to Live > Purple Cabbage > Kron Dutch > Blaze > Phyllis > Lettsanity > Shmink Dabby > Sounds Like A Party
Encore: The Flu
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Broken Social Scene Breaks Out a Social Scene in Ithaca
Canadian indie-rock collective Broken Social Scene opened their US tour, their first in six years, at the State Theater in Ithaca on Saturday, September 16. They’re touring behind Hug of Thunder, their first album in seven years. With the exception of some one-off festival shows here and there (mostly there), the band has essentially ceased to exist.
As soon as the lights went down, the much-less-than-sellout crowd left their assigned seats en masse, as if it were planned, tightly packing the theater halfway. What they lacked in size, they made up for in energy and excitement. Ring leader Kevin Drew took notice and set the tenor for the evening. He said the tour manager warned of a light crowd, but they didn’t care, they were going to throw a “private party” in Ithaca. And gracious hosts they were. Indeed they broke out quite a social scene. Drew, always a showman, was especially high-spirited and chatty on this evening.
They may not have played as a regular unit in a while, but this wasn’t a mere reunion show featuring just a couple of the original members. They brought the core band that has been together since the early days of the band, Drew, Brendan Canning, Charles Spearin, Justin Peroff, Andrew Whiteman, Amy Milan, Sam Goldberg along with some horns and percussion and Ariel Engle, the relative newcomer on vocals. Members came and went and switched instruments at will for a constantly fluctuating lineup that maxed out at 11 people. The guitarist became the bassist became the keyboardist became the trumpeter became the drummer, and so it went.
The band, or at least some of them, kicked into the opening notes of “7/4 Shoreline” shortly after arriving to the stage. Drew stopped them, saying they weren’t playing that yet. They recollected themselves and reached further back in their catalog for the opening “Cause=Time,” which was immediately followed by the aforementioned “7/4 Shoreline.” The band was loose in spirit and playing, but still incredibly tight, like they’d been playing hundreds of shows a year.
Drew’s strict adherence to their predetermined setlist was eventually abandoned. Midway through the set he started openly taking requests from the audience. It was a “private party” after all. “We’re for you, not us, don’t forget that,” explained Drew. “Almost Crimes” opened up the request faucet. “Texico Bitches” also came by request, though as the band started into it, Drew said, “Oh we’re really doing this?” The leader became the follower, reluctantly. They wouldn’t oblige all requests though, “Swimmers” was too deep to be dredged up. Nonetheless, that the somewhat out-of-practice band of 11 was willing and able to take random requests was most impressive. That’s not an easy ship to steer.
Someone, perhaps angry their request wasn’t granted, threw their cup on stage, nearly hitting Drew. Security quickly apprehended the guilty party and dragged them out of the venue. Drew, watching the action unfold, responded, “Aww, I liked that guy!” But he wouldn’t be invited back to the party.
Right before “Sweetest Kill,” Drew took a video of the crowd wishing his friends congratulations on their wedding, which he was sad to be missing due to this show. A message from one “private party” to another. “And now we’re going to sing a song about divorce,” he kidded.
“Ibi Dreams of Pavement” closed the set, but the word ‘closed’ is used loosely. It was announced as the closer, and the band started leaving as it finished up, but before the entire band left Drew managed to wrangle a few to stay as he said, “That was the last song, but I gotta do this for this guy.” Another request which, as the host of the party, he couldn’t let pass. So the crowd was treated to “Major Label Debut,” and as more and more band members got back on stage, it eventually finished with the full band. One more song with more from the ladies, so they played their early infectious hit, “Anthem for a Seventeen Year Old Girl,” which mirroring the start of the show, featured a false start and a do over. But they still weren’t finished, and would grant one last request, this one from the back of the stage, as drummer Justin Peroff asked to play another early one, “KC Accidental.” After a rocking romp through that classic, the band waved their goodbyes and stood together off to the side of the stage for one last look at their party guests. Egged on by a lingering guitar swirl from Whiteman, a few members grabbed an instrument and kept the jam going. A couple more minutes of incredible instrumental Broken Social Scene were squeezed into the end of the show, it was the kind of party no one wanted to leave.
One last pearl of wisdom from Drew as they finally left the stage, “We’re relying on you, so help someone out, it’s the best feeling in the world.” Earlier in the evening, he wondered aloud if he was talking too much. He was looking forward to reading the review of the show that complained about his excessive banter. This isn’t that review.
Setlist: Cause=Time, 7/4 Shoreline, Halfway Home, World Sick, Victim Lover, Protest Song, Superconnected, Fire Eye’d Boy, Almost Crimes, Gonna Get Better, Sweetest Kill, Stay Happy, Hug of Thunder, Texico Bitches, Stars and Sons, Ibi Dreams of Pavement, Major Label Debut, Anthem for a Seventeen Year Old Girl, KC Accidental
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Hearing Aide: Deadrider ‘Reaper’
Living in Central New York, you will find some great talented musicians lurking at your favorite dives and music venues. Oh yes, these creatures still exist and they seek out souls to join their ranks. The energy and the aggression in the material these bands crafted will have it become as if it was forged into your DNA! A perfect example that the music scene in my hometown is still baring teeth is no other than the mighty and destructive Deadrider! With their 2017 album Reaper, you will join the ranks of the CNY metalheads!
Deadrider is a heavy metal and thrash inspired group containing the talents of John V Bustos (lead singer/lead guitar), Antonio Labbe (drums), Michael V Visconti (guitar and backing vocals) and Mike Losert (bass). If you go to the local shows in the area, I bet you will meet these rocking dudes! With so many great influences on the album from the late 80s and early 90s, the best track that encompasses these elements would be the track. “Heavy Metal Deadride.” With amazing guitar work with searing guitar solos from both Bustos and Visconti , your ear will pick up the how the track is deeply rooted into bands like Anvil and early Iron Maiden days. With a dangerous cocktail of power and aggression, this jam becomes a whiplash worthy type of track; prepare for bangovers! The melodies are infused with g-force speed and allows this piece to come alive. It will eat you up! The vocals will create a fire in your blood as if it was your last ride. Ready for their last ride and hot damn it makes it addicting. With such speed you can see this element on other tracks on the release like “Brainwashed” to keep you windmilling for days.What I love most about Deadrider is the hints of thrash in their material. Let me tell ya brother, I love my thrash as much as I love my crafted beer. One of my favorite tracks to give me my thrash fix is the necksnapping “Skulls and Bones.” This thrash based track with neck breaking riffs will have you sore for days! The drums are wild and sparadic and it fits the overall approach of this song quite well. This will make you pick up your feet and mosh as if your life depends on it. Losert brings that nice old school 80s bass tone to it. Labbe with his great approach and dynamic style, really allows the lower and bottom end in great form. This allows both the bass and drums to shine like a sword after it is folded into the perfect weapon. Show no mercy when this song is blasting.
The band’s track “Iron Angel” is one hell of a catchy grooved based tune. With the mindset of the end is coming towards the listener and your possible enemies, it really feeds that urge to have destruction take hold. If Venom had a bastard son, this would be the track! This one is indeed for the metal fans of the all or nothing type of attitude. It is one my personal favorite tracks on the album. Along with “Through The Trenches” the added variable of the formula to this album of fighting to the last breath will make this your go to release to get pumped before the show. Like pumped and ready to scream!
Reaper has the fix for that raw thrash and old school heavy metal approach that will fill any bar and music venue in the area! I would rate this album 5 out of 5! Check them out on Facebook and their website.
Key Tracks: Iron Angel, Brainwashed, Skulls and Bone
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Sunday Fun Day at Rochester Fringe Festival with Tart Vandelay at Java’s Cafe
KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival is still going strong. In its fifth year, the entertainment offerings are better than ever. After a couple nights at the main stage on Parcel 5 at Fringe Festival, I took a detour down Gibbs Street to check out one of the smaller Fringe Festival venues, Java’s Cafe. On Sunday, they featured a musical performance by art pop duo Tart Vandelay.
Java’s Cafe is situated beside the Eastman Theatre and across from the Eastman School of Music, making it a natural place for musicians and music-lovers to congregate. The wooden interior, warm lighting and art-lined walls lend to the cozy atmosphere. The venue is a perfect pairing for local indie pop artists Tart Vandelay. Tonight they performed as a duo rather than a full band. The founding members, Katie Halligan with her microphone and looping station and Martin LoFaso with his guitar, set themselves up in the corner of the shop, the tables already filled to capacity with family, fans, and people who came to see them for the first time. Among the crowd were members of The Demos, a testament to how supportive the local music scene is of each other’s work.
They started the set with a cheery song called “Spin.” Halligan worked her magic with the looping station to create repeating layers of playful vocalizations (“ba-da-ba”s and “ooh”s) and percussive beats with handshakers. Over-top this foundation, she began to sing in dulcet tones the optimistic chorus, “Spin, spin. Go with the flow. Let my orbit carry me where I need to go.” LoFaso chimed in on guitar, and his solo replicated the melody of the chorus. They radiated pure joy as they played, and the feeling was contagious. The audience was drawn in by their charisma. The typical coffee shop chatter and bustle seemed to be put on hold, as all eyes and ears were fixated on the splendor that is Tart Vandelay.
Tart Vandelay continued to spin an intricate web of acoustic strands, deceptively simple yet completely spellbinding. The set included all the songs from last year’s debut EP Frontier Pioneer, and a couple new ones that they’ve been working on. One of the new ones, “I’m Gonna Try,” is a great example of how they incorporate wordplay into their songwriting. The chorus “Try, try, do my best and do it again” was repeated with slight variations of melody and layered over each other. It’s like having an entire choir of Halligans, a delightfully enchanting concept that she is able to bring to life using modern musical technology. It was easy to let oneself get lost in the enchantment of sounds as the duo continued to weave their magic spell. The set was over way to quickly, time seemingly suspended and the world having faded away for a too-brief period of time. Halligan dedicated the final song to her father, who was in the audience: a heartfelt cover of Julia Easterlin’s “Go Straight Away.”https://soundcloud.com/tartvandelay/spin
Tart Vandelay Java’s Cafe Sunday Setlist: Spin, Alien, I’m Gonna Try, Not Alone, Bells, How Hard Could It Be?, High Life, Go Straight Away (Julia Easterlin cover)
Tart Vandelay makes another appearance at Java’s Cafe on Thursday, September 21 at 9pm. Frontier Pioneer is available on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and Spotify. Follow Tart Vandelay on Facebook for news and upcoming events. To read more about the band, see their recent interview with NYS Music.
Java’s Cafe offers a wide variety of environmentally-friendly and socially-conscious menu items, including free-trade coffee, an exotic collection of teas made from loose leaves, hormone-free dairy from a local farm, and allergen-free baked goods. They’re providing free entertainment during Fringe Festival.
Remaining Fringe Festival Shows at Java’s Cafe:
September 20 – 6pm – Cherrytree Jukebox (duo covering singer/songwriters of the past century)
September 20 – 8pm – An Evening With Logan Miller (singer/songwriter)
September 21 – 7pm – Dave DiPrimo Band (alternative rock)
September 21 – 9pm – Tart Vandelay (indie pop)
September 22 – 11pm – Ponder the Giraffe (alternative jam)
September 23 – 2pm – Daniel Henry (tribute to Frank Sinatra and Friends)
Rochester Fringe Festival continues through Saturday, September 23. Shows at Java’s Cafe and several other venues are free – arrive early for seating. Ticketed shows have been selling fast, so it’s best to purchase them in advance. For more information, visit RochesterFringe.com.
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An Interview with YES Keyboardist Geoff Downes
YES is best known for their influence on rock history and classic songs including “Roundabout,” “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” and countless others. On their recent YESTIVAL tour, YES featured a setlist of greatest hits from the band’s studio work, performing at least one song from each of the first 10 albums, starting with YES (1969) through Drama (1980). Matt Richards, keyboardist for Formula 5 spoke with YES keyboardist Geoff Downes about his gear, YES’ best compositions and the rock legacy of YES as they near the half century mark.
Matt Richards: How has the YESTIVAL tour stuck out to you compared to your previous tours with YES?
Geoff Downes: It has been very different so far because we have been doing the chronological tracks from each of the first ten albums. That has seemed to be something the fans really like because they get to hear tracks that are not in the normal YES repertoire and haven’t been played for quite some years. I think being on the bill with Todd Rundgren and Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy has been a nice mixture to be able to have a whole feast of music rather than just the standard YES classics. In the past we have been doing albums in their entirety and it has been nice to move away from that and look at a much more historical view of the band’s catalogue.
MR: How is touring in The United States different from touring in The UK?
GD: A lot of the venues in The US are better designed for concerts in the modern age. The backstage areas and load-in areas are much more accessible. The British venues are not designed for big stage trucks to come through and some of the theaters in the UK are very old. There is a bit of a logistical problem in that regard but audience-wise, we’ve got a following in the UK as well as the United States that is very receptive to the music of YES
MR: Is there one song you find the most representative of the music of YES?
GD: I think there are certainly a few but I find “And You And I” from the Close To The Edge album is the most representative of YES’s music in terms of the changes in the sections, the dynamics, and the great uplifting finale. In a lot of ways, dynamics is what YES’s music is all about. It has the same application that classical music does where the orchestra is not going full torque all the way and it features certain instruments at certain times. That’s what makes YES’s music very interesting and appeal to a wide range of generations. It is always uplifting to play that one live and I look forward to it coming up in the setlist because it is such a great piece of music.
MR: As a keyboardist do you find there is any particular keyboard that is the most representative of YES’ sound?
GD: The music has been very focused since the early days with Tony Kay on the acoustic piano and Hammond organ rolls. That was extended more by Rick Wakeman when he started to introduce Melotrons and the Minimoog. I think those elements have always been key to YES’ music and progressive rock music in general. When I joined the band in 1980 that is when the real explosion of synths and digital keyboards was just beginning. I think I injected that into the Drama album. I tried to take it a step further and bring the technology in line with what was happening in music in general.
MR: Is there any keyboard that you are currently touring with that is your favorite to use in your performance?
GD: I use Mac laptops for recreating a lot of those old sounds because the software now is so sophisticated that we are capable of doing that. I have always been very interested in not only the musical side, but the technological side of keyboard playing. It is sort of a dream to be able to create these wonderful sounds with virtual synths.
MR: What program do you find is best to recreate the classic synth sounds?
GD: I use Apple’s Mainstage which is a development from Logic. Logic Pro X is the main program and it is great because you can create all these virtual layers of keyboards. It is a very powerful piece of design.
MR: With such an emphasis on composition in YES’ music, what role does improvisation have in the live performance?
GD: Generally, we try to remain fairly close to the original recording in terms of core parts of the pieces because that’s what people mostly have as their highlights of our music. There are occasions where solos have more flexibility and some of the arrangements will be chopped around while still recreating the songs accordingly.
MR: What role does YES play in the world of music?
GD: It is a very unique volume of music in the history of rock music. There is a very positive and uplifting experience that drew many listeners to the band from the beginning. The name of the band and the positivity emanating from that is carried on into the music. I think people find that not only something nice to listen to but also a spiritual experience. I think YES is quite unique in that respect that they can actually convey that feeling to people, making them feel good and want to say “Yes!” as they listen.